L’MAD COLLECTION
Start-up cost: ‘We spent R40 000 on the first scarf edition in 2012.’ Turnover: ‘We’ve done well enough to open up our new studio in Shepstone Gardens in Johannesburg; we are open only by appointment. Our scarves can also be found at the Cavalli Estate in Stellenbosch, The Four Seasons in Johannesburg, Guillotine at 44 Stanley, the Everard Read Gallery and the Norval Foundation in Cape Town.’
‘When you wear an L’MAD Collection limitededition scarf, you are one of only 50 people in the world to own this original piece of art,’ founder Lucy MacGarry says proudly. She’s collaborated with local artists to create limitededition silk scarves and garments through L’MAD (a shortened version of ‘Lucy MacGarry Art and Design’) for almost seven years.
Her corporate experience, which included securing artwork for large companies, prepared her for her own business venture. ‘I was coming into contact with a lot of artists and I just felt there was an opportunity to offer them another stream of income and creative outlet,’ she explains.
‘It’s a way for people to acquire artwork in a more accessible way and price point. From a sartorial perspective, what you wear every day is one of the most basic creative outlets available to you. I’ve always had a passion for fashion, it was about bringing fashion and art together into a luxury product.’
Lucy has strict criteria for selecting artists. ‘You have to look at where the artist is in their career and whether their work can translate to something like silk. When you wear the scarf, you won’t see the full image. Maybe you’ll see an
eye or something in the fold. The artwork needs to be beautiful when it’s around your neck or draped around your body.’
Lucy also collaborates with her husband, artist Michael MacGarry, who creates the highly conceptual promotional videos featured on the L’MAD Collection website. ‘He’s very versatile as an artist – he works in sculpture and photography as well as filmmaking.’ In their house, there’s no boundary between their home and work lives. ‘We talk about creative projects all the time,’ says Lucy.
Although she takes pride in keeping the creative development local, she’s looked abroad to refine various printing techniques for L’MAD’s wide range of silks. ‘The silk I source comes from Hangzhou, which has been at the centre of Chinese silk production for centuries now. In Hangzhou I am able to select from different kinds and weights of silk.’
In 2013, the Elton John AIDS Foundation featured one of L’MAD Collection’s scarves in its ‘Love Is In My Blood’ social media campaign, aimed at stirring up conversation about AIDS.
Celebrities including Lady Gaga, Shakira, David Bowie and Adele showed their support by pricking their fingers, squeezing out a spot of blood and tweeting the image, accompanied by the words ‘Love Is In My Blood’ and a link to the foundation’s website. To encourage their participation, the foundation sent gift boxes; each had a bespoke design created by big-shot illustrators such as James Joyce, Damien Poulain and Ryan Todd, and contained instructions on what to do along with some beautiful luxury gifts … among them, a silk scarf.
The scarves were designed by Brazilian street artist Mateus Bailon and South African artist Michael Taylor in collaboration with L’MAD. ‘They received this beautiful box and it included an at-home HIV test kit. We were able to access a large number of celebrities through that campaign.’
Lucy plans to extend her range. ‘We do have certain garments in our ready-to-wear collection, which I developed with Lisa Jaffe of Guillotine Design. We’ve created a collection together called L’MAD Guillotine: 100% silk kimonos, dresses, tops and shorts. We recently did a show at SA Fashion Week that went very well.’
Lucy also runs her own art consultancy, curating art projects for corporate and private clients.
Her advice for budding entrepreneurs? ‘Find a niche that speaks to you. You have to be eternally engaged and passionate about what you want to offer the world.’